Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

Suddenly, Lin Xiao recalled the information the system had given him back in the Green Wilderness Secret Realm. Even a secret realm accessible only to Qi Refining cultivators required a Nascent Soul cultivator to open its entrance. This fact alone spoke volumes about the immense power of such sects.

With this realization, Lin Xiao no longer found it strange that someone as powerful as Liao Pantu, a Nascent Soul cultivator, hadn't traveled through the entire cultivation world.

Thinking of the Green Wilderness Secret Realm, he suddenly remembered something.

"Senior, what happened to your former sect?"

Liao Pantu sipped his tea. When Lin Xiao mentioned his former sect, his expression remained calm as he replied, "You mean the Tianluo Sect? Over two hundred years ago, the sect master of Tianluo fell. A friend of mine, the sect master's eldest disciple, took over. At that time, Tianluo Sect was in decline. He invited me, a wandering cultivator at the time, to join, and I agreed because I was looking to take in disciples. But who could have imagined..."

Lin Xiao poured himself a cup of tea and asked, "Do you plan to return now?"

Hearing this, Liao Pantu glared at him and said, "What? Are you trying to get out of your promise to help me find the rest of my soul and body?"

Lin Xiao smiled wryly, "Of course not. I just thought you might have deep feelings for your old sect."

Liao Pantu rolled his eyes at him and said, "You're too young to be learning bad habits—stop speaking in riddles like that! If I had deep feelings for Tianluo Sect, I wouldn't have left it to join Lingxian Sect just to study their techniques."

Putting down his teacup, Liao Pantu then asked, "How do you feel? Notice anything different?"

Lin Xiao was puzzled but followed Liao Pantu's instruction and checked his body for any changes.

To his surprise, he discovered that his spiritual sense had grown slightly stronger!

Excited, he looked at Liao Pantu, who seemed pleased with himself. "How about that? The bed made from the giant Soul Nourishing Wood works wonders, doesn't it?"

Lin Xiao nodded enthusiastically, "This is amazing! If I sleep on it every night, won't my spiritual sense become incredibly powerful?"

Liao Pantu chuckled, "You've got quite the imagination for someone so young. If that were the case, I would have had the spiritual strength of a Soul Formation or even a Void Refinement cultivator decades ago."

"Enough of that. Let's head out soon. I'll take you, a country bumpkin, to see the cities here."

With that, he stood up, intending to unlock the restrictions on the cave mansion's defenses so they could leave.

However, as he reached the entrance and connected his spiritual sense to the formation, he noticed that someone outside was trying to force their way through the outermost illusion array. He raised an eyebrow.

Well, well, after all these years, someone had finally come to loot his cave mansion?

Without hesitation, he opened the outer layer of the illusion array, allowing the people outside to enter.

The three Qi Refining cultivators outside had been struggling for an entire day and night with no success and were on the verge of giving up when they suddenly saw an entrance open before them.

Elated, the three, who had been feeling disheartened, assumed their efforts had paid off and quickly entered without further thought.

Sensing that three young Qi Refining cultivators had entered the formation, Liao Pantu was momentarily taken aback, then slightly displeased.

This was the cave mansion of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and the only intruders were three measly Qi Refining brats? Who were they looking down on?

At the very least, it should have been Foundation Establishment or Golden Core cultivators! Though annoyed, Liao Pantu still adjusted the difficulty of the illusion array to be less deadly, intending to scare them senseless but not to the point of death.

After all, he hadn't been back in decades, and he didn't want too much bloodshed near his long-unvisited cave mansion.

Moreover, who knew if these three Qi Refining brats had any backing? For now, he wasn't in a position to deal with their potential patrons. Scaring them off would suffice.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao, seeing Liao Pantu standing at the entrance and seemingly communicating with the cave's defenses, didn't disturb him. Instead, he sat down and continued to observe his surroundings.

Though he had toured the place yesterday, he hadn't paid attention to many details. Now, upon closer inspection, he found many more fascinating things.

Nascent Soul cultivators were truly wealthy.

When would he reach such a level?

Suddenly, he noticed the Kunlun Transference Array still lying quietly where they had arrived yesterday. He quickly walked over, picked it up, and stored it in his private vault.

Recalling the 2,000 spirit stones they had deposited into it, he became curious about how much had been used. He decided to appraise the Kunlun Transference Array.

[Kunlun Transference Array, Earth-tier array, capable of transporting you to any location you desire (as long as you know the exact location). Maximum capacity of five people. Can be powered by spirit stones or paired with a Spirit Gathering Array. The exact transportation distance depends on the amount of spiritual energy absorbed and the number of people. Current spiritual energy value of the array: 287 (Spirit stones to spiritual energy ratio is 1:1)]

???

Lin Xiao couldn't believe it. He exited and reappraised the array.

The result was the same—287 units of spiritual energy remaining.

He was stunned.

Good heavens, the one-way trip had consumed over 1,700 spirit stones?

It turned out that Liao Pantu hadn't overestimated when he casually tossed in 2,000 stones—it had been just the right amount!

So, when the time came to return, wouldn't he need to spend just as much?

Suddenly, Lin Xiao, who had been feeling wealthy with 50,000 spirit stones, no longer felt so rich.

Oh, and that storage ring filled with spirit stones was still with Liao Pantu.

Thinking about the steep travel expenses, Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened.

He'd have to complete all his tasks in the cultivation world in one go; otherwise, the cost of traveling back and forth would be too painful.

At the entrance, after successfully luring the three Qi Refining brats into the adjusted illusion array, Liao Pantu turned back with satisfaction, ready to call Lin Xiao to head out.

But as soon as he turned, he saw Lin Xiao with a pained expression.

Noticing that the Kunlun Transference Array had disappeared from the spot where they had arrived yesterday, Liao Pantu immediately understood why Lin Xiao looked like that. With a tone of disdain, he said, "Look at you, acting so petty. You're the master of a sect with an entire spirit stone mine! And this mine is nourished by a spirit vein. Your starting point is already far better than many small sects. What's the big deal about 2,000 spirit stones? I've got more than 100,000 spirit stones embedded in the ceiling here."

Unconvinced by this "consolation," Lin Xiao glanced at him and asked, "Then can I pry off your ceiling?"

Liao Pantu, flustered, immediately retorted, "No way! What would I do without my ceiling?"

Lin Xiao shrugged and said, "Even if we have resources, we should be frugal. I need to consider the long-term development of the sect."

With that, he added, "Senior, let's head out quickly. I need to make the most of my time! I need to complete all the tasks I came to the cultivation world for, and then I can return home to focus on cultivating!"